I am pleased to welcome Patricia Baxter as our new Vice Provost for Academic Planning. This new position will be a key one in terms of building capacity commensurate with the new mandate for the Office of the Provost. The Vice Provost for Academic Planning will work closely with the Provost and the Deans to coordinate the academic budgeting process, promote evidence-based analysis and evaluation of new program investments, and develop a multi-year planning process, including planning for enrollment and space. Within the Provostís Office, she will oversee the Office of Institutional Research. Needless to say, she will work closely with a range of colleagues in the Provostís Office, in the divisions, and in the University administration.

Pat is a highly experienced arts- and academic administrator with an extensive background in the private and public sectors in New York and California. From 1998-2009 she was Associate Dean for Administration at the University of California, Los Angeles School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts). In this capacity, she functioned as chief administrative officer as well as catalyst and expeditor for the development of planning initiatives. She was responsible for the Schoolís overall administrative leadership, including strategic planning, and she was a key player in program development and the analysis of curricular innovations. Her work involved collaboration and a high degree of coordination across disciplines and university departments. She worked with faculty and administrative leaders to ensure that academic goals and initiatives were well synchronized with resource planning and administrative concerns. She was directly responsible for managing the Schoolís human, financial, and physical resources, including an annual budget of $50 million and facilities totaling 400,000 square-feet. Additionally, she managed the design and renovation process for the $53 million Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center designed by Richard Meier & Partners.

Pat held several previous academic administrative positions at UCLA prior to being appointed Associate Dean for Administration for UCLA Arts. From 1992-1998 she was Assistant Dean of the School of Art and Architecture; from 1991-92 she was the schoolís Special Project Coordinator; and from 1987-1991 she was a Project Manager in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Relations.

Previous to her positions at UCLA, Pat was Vice President and Director of Personnel at Sothebyís New York from 1982-1986, and she was General Manger of the noted experiential design firm Edwin Schlossberg from 1979-1982. Pat received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Cornell University and she began her career as an administrator in the Visual Arts department at the University of California, San Diego.

We are delighted to welcome Pat to New York City, to The New School, and to the Office of the Provost. I know she will contribute a great deal here and that she will come to be a valued colleague.